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For our March “House of the Month,” we’ve selected this beautiful 2-bedroom cabin in Parkside Village.

Now you can own your own perfect getaway with this cozy two bedroom and two bath cabin smack dab in the center of Wears Valley! It’s located just minutes from town and offers easy access to either Townsend or the National Park. This is a mountain lover’s dream!

Well maintained and newly stained, this 2-bedroom cabin’s open floor plan will offer you the chance to relax with family and friends or enjoy a nice game of pool in the downstairs game room.

For our March “Cabin of the Month,” we’ve chosen this 1-bedroom cabin nestled in Parkside Village.

Taken care of by a great owner, this 1-bedroom cabin offers the perfect opportunity to get away from it all and just relax in the quiet of the woods. Located in the heart of Wears Valley, this is your chance to own your very own quaint one bedroom and one bath. Make it your second home or continue to enjoy it as an income producing rental property!

The great open floor plan flows well and is perfect for you and your closest family. Adorned with small handcrafted details that really make this cabin stand out from the rest. Step out onto your back deck that is wonderful for grilling or enjoying a cup of coffee on a crisp Tennessee spring morning. And of course, it comes equipped with a covered hot tub so that you can enjoy a relaxing soak, rain or shine!

If you would like to schedule a visit to see this 1-bedroom cabin, contact me at 865-765-6157 or call my support line at 865-654-2111.

The most common type of phone call we receive from buyers looking for real estate in our market usually starts out something like, “I’ve never really owned vacation rentals before but I want to buy one with great rental history!”

I always tell them, “Awesome, you want to become an investor! I can definitely help you with that!”

The conversation then turns to identifying what exactly they are looking for in an investment property and what their budget is for buying real estate. Once we have those parameters figured out, the next point to focus on is understanding what their long term plans are with buying real estate. Always be looking for real estate property with the expectation that you will sell at some point. This is the first, most important step in the process of buying real estate. We have found that it is fairly common for investment cabin owners to relist their cabins within five or so years. Either their investment strategies evolve leading them to buy other cabins or to invest in other ideas, or life happens and their focus on where they want to spend their investment dollars changes. So, always buy with the sale in mind. What does that mean? Well, it means there are several criteria you want to do your best to meet as you search for the best investment.

It’s got to be in a great location. Location is everything, as I’m sure you know. You’ve got to buy something in a great location. You can change almost anything about a home but you can’t change the location. You can’t move a house if it’s in a bad location. So how do we define “great location?” Well, in the Smokies, a great location is generally something that has a beautiful view of the mountains, is close to attractions, and is relatively peaceful. If your investment property doesn’t meet at least some of those criteria, it had better offer something incredibly unique that renters will find appealing.

Buy the lowest priced property of the best quality on the block. You definitely don’t want to own the most expensive home or cabin in the resort, and the reason is this: when you get ready to sell, you will have a hard time getting that piece of real estate to appraise for what you want from it. Appraisers look at similar properties in the same area of the property for sale as much as possible, and often times a property that is priced higher than the ones around it sold for has trouble getting approval for the price you are being offered. Without an appraiser’s stamp, a lender won’t be able to authorize the deal unless the buyer is willing to pay the difference up front. Most buyers using a lender usually can’t (or won’t). By going after something that is less expensive, you have enough room to maneuver as it appreciates in value.

Buy as high quality of property as you can afford. People are always looking for the best deal, and I personally love helping them finding someone else’s mistake that they can turn into a win. But even with that goal it’s important to remember that the cheaper something is, the more you will have to spend to turn it into a gold mine. You want to buy real estate property with good bones that will hold up better without much maintenance. On that subject, don’t buy something with an outdated, obsolete floor plan. You want to buy something that can be changed to keep up with the interior design trends. So buy something with potential to be great without having to completely rebuild from scratch.

Remember, the goal in real estate investing is to make money with the property, both on the front end over the years as you rent it and on the back end when you sell it for a profit. If you’re not striving to reach those two goals, it might be someone else buying your mistake instead!

Next month, I’ll take you through some of the strategies I encourage my buyers to use once they’ve found the “diamond in the rough” so that remodeling the home increases their profits rather than cutting into it.

In the meantime, if you have any questions about the local real estate market, my team and I are always here to help and answer questions.

If you’ve been thinking about buying or selling your home or cabin, now is the time – whichever side of the process you are on.

For sellers, it’s the right time to sell because you can ask for a higher price these days. The number of properties – including homes and vacation/rental cabins – is low, creating a market where those properties that are priced competitively will sell for very close to asking price and very quickly, too. It has also meant an increase in sales prices as people are willing to offer more to get the home they want and face a greater number of buyers competing for less inventory. We’ve seen properties with offers on them within as little as three days of being listed, and usually at or above the asking price of the cabin or home.

For buyers, it’s the right time to buy because interest rates are still relatively low and down payment terms are reasonable. If you are considering a cabin as a second home property, you should also talk with your accountant because it’s been reported that second homes are still eligible for some tax deductions that were removed from other types of home ownership in the tax bill the federal government adopted at the end of 2017. National outlets such as realtor.com are telling us to expect the rates to reach 5 percent before the end of the year, so the longer you wait, the more it may cost you in the long run. Of course, buyers who are working with lenders are getting some tough competition from buyers who are willing to bring cash to the table, so that’s something to keep in mind when making an offer on a home or cabin.

If you’re a buyer, another thing to consider is that homes are continuing to increase in value. So, if you wait another year, you’re going to pay more for the same square feet or the same house than you would right now. However, you don’t want to panic or settle for something that you don’t love, but waiting to start the search isn’t a good idea.

If you’re preparing for the process of buying or selling and want to learn more about the local market, need help determining the value of your property in order to sell it for the most appropriate price, or need help finding the best second home/investment cabin to buy, we are here to answer any questions you may have.

With a focus on main floor living, this beautiful Cedar Falls log home has a open floor plan perfect for family and guests.

From its huge kitchen with stunning granite counter tops and gleaming marble floors accented by stainless steel appliances and custom maple cabinets to the living and dining areas adorned with sturdy timber rafters and gorgeous tongue and groove walls, you will love this Cedar Falls log home.

Totaling nearly 3,300 square feet, this 3-bedroom, 3.5-bath log home comes complete with a 15-foot long wet bar including a built-in wine cooler and plenty of storage for those party essentials. It’s the perfect addition for hosting guests.

Next, you’ll also find located on the main floor the enormous master suite with two huge walk-in closets, each offering its own built-in shelving. Along with the master suite, the main floor is set up with a second full bath and the laundry room. Just off the master suite is a bonus space that can serve for whatever function you need, be it office, dressing room, or just another bedroom space. That room opens to the screened porch where you can sit and enjoy the beautiful view of the outdoors.

Downstairs, you’ll find more bedroom space and other amenities. The lower level has its own group of bedrooms and play/work space, another full bath, media room and a mud room.

The beauty of this home extends to the outdoor surroundings as well with its beautifully landscaped patio and wooded surroundings.

This Cedar Falls log home can serve either as a rental, vacation home, or permanent resident. Cedar Falls is a beautiful community with a pool, playground, fishing pond, and a wedding chapel and pavilion by the creek.

If you’d like to schedule a visit to this Cedar Falls log home, call me at 865-765-6157 or my support line at 865-654-2111.

For our “Cabin of the Month” of January, we’ve selected this vacation home in Cedar Falls.

Level lots are hard to come by here in the Great Smoky Mountains region, but this cabin is on one! It’s the perfect spot for enjoying time with your family around the fire pit! Enjoy the private setting of this vacation home located in the beautiful Cedar Falls resort, just minutes from Pigeon Forge! Step onto the wrap around porch with your fresh cup of morning coffee and take in all that nature has to offer, including your very own stream that runs right across your property.

This one bedroom, almost 1,400 square foot vacation home cabin utilizes an open concept floor plan with soaring ceilings, hand crafted gorgeous fireplace, wood floors, upscale furnishings and over-sized windows to take in nature. It is handicap accessible with a ramp entrance and wide doorways. You’ll find the cabin is a well maintained vacation home that comes equipped with 2 Master suites. Both have their own attached baths. The cabin also comes with its own unique carport for parking your vehicles.

This property has never been on rental but is in pristine condition and has excellent income potential. You can see other details about this vacation home here.

To learn more about this vacation home or to schedule a showing, call us at 865-654-2111.

Our first “House of the Month” for 2018 is this almost 3,400 square foot country home on Topside Drive in Sevierville.

Conveniently located next to Veterans Boulevard to provide quick access within minutes to Governors Crossing or Pigeon Forge, you’re also just minutes from LeConte Medical Center and downtown Sevierville.

This classic four bedroom, three bath country home comes equipped with garage/carport space for up to four vehicles and offers plenty of extra space for storage or hobbies in the heated and cooled unfinished basement. Gleaming hardwood floors throughout. Sit comfortably by the warmth of the home’s woodburning stove or enjoy time outside entertaining friends and family on the patio.

You will enjoy the beautifully gorgeous Smoky Mountain views from the back patio, fenced back yard, and detached carport of this country home. You’ll find plenty of extra space for storage or hobbies in the heated and cooled unfinished basement.

To learn more or to schedule a showing at this country home, call us at 865-654-2111.

We are finally reaching the end of 2017 and wow, what a year it’s been! We started with one of the worst tragedies our region has seen as we watched the Smoky Mountains and parts of Gatlinburg burn just over a year ago. So many vacation and rental cabin owners were devastated by the wildfires and we worked with many of them as they made the tough decision to either build back or buy something else. As the costs of materials and construction climbed over the year due to catastrophes in other parts of the country, even people who planned to rebuild their rental cabins slowly abandoned those plans because the price of doing that was just too much.

The rental cabin market in 2017

Not everyone who owned a cabin was eager to sell, though, so what we ended up with was a market of anxious buyers without enough cabins on the market to meet the demand. And many of them had cash from their insurance checks, so they were willing and able to pay a little more than someone who was new to the idea of buying a cabin, or who was working with a lender. The result was that prices of existing cabins began to steadily climb as well. The price to buy remained lower than the price to build throughout the year, and we still haven’t reached the point where building and buying are equal in price.

The number of residential properties, including rental cabins, didn’t quite reach the number sold in 2016, but the average price of such properties increased roughly $25,000 on average and our total sales for the Great Smoky Mountains region passed $540,000,000. Nearly 1,100 of the properties sold were vacation and rental cabins. With the flurry of buyers, we saw properties on the market sell very quickly, sometimes in less than a week if they were competitively priced or in a fantastic location for the right buyer.

So what does all that mean for 2018? Well, the number of residential homes and rental cabins for sale in our market will continue to be down and the market for buyers will remain a competitive one. This is good news for sellers but not good news for buyers. If you are thinking about buying a cabin, sooner is better than later. The longer you wait, the more difficult it will be to find a property within the price range you want to be in and the more competition you will have for what’s available. The market price for residential property will continue to climb until it reaches a point where the cost of building is a reasonable option. The most important thing to understand in that statement is that the cost of building isn’t likely to go down in the foreseeable future, either. So as the price of building climbs, it will be that much longer before building and buying are the same price.

Finally, none of this is exact science. In fact, there’s a lot more art to it than science. But what we do know is that the vacation rental cabin market is booming and because of that, cabin owners generally aren’t likely to sell their investment properties as long as they can make more with the rental income than they can from the sale of the cabin. The other factor for owners is the tax depreciation. Until that is used up, they will keep going. (Talk to your tax attorney if you want to understand more about how tax depreciation can be beneficial to you in the vacation cabin market.) And, the increasing number of buyers, especially people who are moving their investments from the coast line to the mountains, is expected to continue. This high number of buyers will drive the market.

As always, my staff and I are here to answer any questions you have about the rental cabin market.

Our featured ‘Cabin of the Month’ for December has incredible mountain views of the National Park!

Enjoy gorgeous mountain views all day at this 3 bedroom plus a bonus room and 4.5 bathroom cabin in Hickory Hollow! Its open, spacious floor plan is perfect for entertaining the whole family. You will adore the soaring ceiling accompanied by an amazing wall of glass where you can gaze the mountain views from the comfort of the main room.